Three Peaks, And More

 

Saturday was the 5th Annual Three Peaks Challenge, a nine mile jaunt from the park proper up to West Peak, to Castle Craig, and over to South Mountain and back to the park. 30+ people took part; above is just  part of the collected crazies, photographed at Castle Craig. (Some photos courtesy of Kathy Matula, Meriden Parks and Recreation)

Visit #1628, Saturday 14 November 26, 9:30 a.m. - 2:20 p.m., 9.0 miles, 2.9 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 40s, sometimes sunny, sometimes cloudy, breezy.

Visit #1629, Sunday 15 November 26, 7:10-8:20 a.m., 1.7 miles, 2.3 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the upper 30s, sunny and breezy.

Visit #1630, Sunday 15 November 26, 12:00-12:30 p.m., mileage and litter n/a.

Temps in the 40s, sunny and breezy.

This is my once a year public appearance. The rest of the year I'm the Big Foot of Hubbard Park and prefer it that way. I'm not good at socializing in large groups, and picking up litter while participating in this hike can seem pretentious and is certainly not my intention, but by now it's Pavlovian to me. In any event, I joined in.

I soon discovered my camera battery was dead and I would hold up the group if I stopped to change it. Fortunately, Kathy Matula, Recreation Director of the Meriden Parks Department, picked up the slack for me for most of the day.

Earlier in October, Kathy asked if removing poison ivy was a task I might take care of as the trail markers on one such affected tree were in need of replacement. I did the deed and she replaced the markers. Here she shows off her handiwork.

Since I was picking up litter while I hiked, I naturally fell in with the tail end of the group, which eventually separates based on speed. This worked to our end-group's advantage as we were able to remove the trail signage as we hiked and drop it off in the support van driven by Parks and Recreation Administrative Assistant and endlessly cheerful Deanell Fraser.

Here Kathy wields a mean knife removing one sign while hiker Amy stands by, ready to administer first aid should Kathy cut herself.

More proof of Deanell's perpetual cheer.

Nearing Castle Craig, Kathy asked me to pose with her for a photo, and insisted I stand to her right.

I don't know why.

Our caboose eventually whittled down to five, and we enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the hike.

The people who hiked faster than we did think they're so smart but actually they are not. You see, one of the benefits of being last is, we get to take home any leftover pizza! You don't have to ask me twice.

While I could easily eat all that in one sitting, I like to savor my pizza. So I package the individual slices and remove any air from the bag with a straw; dinner for the next week. A poor man's vacuum packing.

After such a strenuous hike, sore legs are a given, including mine. For quicker recovery, I use the Travel model Fit Stick. Just a few minutes after the hike, and again after I wake up, and I'm ready for another nine miles.

Okay; now that the fun is out of the way it's back to business.

Last week I found some large graffiti on the walkbridge over I-691. You can see from the photo that I'd previously painted over other graffiti in February 2025. Today I did it again.

"Slime" has appeared more than once before, as recently as 19 April 26.  Today it, and the other tag go away.

On the way across the walkbridge I found Cat's Patootie #53 since November 2016. To save you embarrassment, I show it to you only after I painted over the private parts.

But that wasn't the only place I found this tag. During the Three Peaks Challenge I found #s 54 - 56. So Sunday afternoon I returned to South Mountain via mountain bike to add to my tally and satisfy my OCD tendencies.

We now return to more rational hiking distances, until next year.

Klieg Lights, Epilogue

 

As you can tell, we're deep into fall.

Visit #1627, Sunday 7 November 26, 6:00-8:15 a.m., 4.0 miles, 3.2 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 40s, partly sunny.

I love the word 'epilogue'. The first time I saw the word was as a kid, watching the TV show, The FBI.

The show was based on real crimes. I vaguely recall the show broken into segments I, II, and so on, and the last segment being The Epilouge, which would reveal the end result of the case. As young as I was I never knew what the word meant!

Today would be the epilogue to the Case of the Klieg Lights That Shut Off Way Too Late.

I had been on this case since late September and the parks department eventually took up my suggestion and replaced the photocell which governs the lights' on/off function. This morning I would see if it made any difference.

I was on the road heading to Hubbard Park in the dark at roughly 5:30 a.m. and confirmed I could see one of the lights illuminated as I drove down East Main Street.

Hiking up to Castle Craig I passed by the Halfway House and saw the parks department has mowed the area so fall hikers can enjoy it. Nice job.

I reached Castle Craig at 6:37 a.m. and the morning light was just beginning to overtake the area.

And the klieg lights - wait for it...

YES! Even adjusting for the recent change from Daylight Savings Time to Daylight Standard Time, that's over a two hour savings of electricity, and that's just the morning, the same must hold true in the evening, not to mention wear and tear on the lights themselves. My thanks to the Meriden Parks Department for listening to my complaint and for their follow-through.

After this wonderful discovery I policed the area and walking around the castle I see there's a new bench installed, with a view south.

Here is the dedication plaque.

I knew the family casually, but even as a high school lad I was greatly influenced by their poise, professionalism, and standing in the community. As an adult I would see Jane as a volunteer at local blood drives. Besides her conversational charm, the peanut butter bars she baked for the drives were enough to make one want to donate a second pint! May hat's off to the family for their donation.

While cleaning up I found two discarded MRE packets. That's military-speak for Meal Ready to Eat.

 For any true veteran, myself included, it's common knowledge that along with eating the meal, you carry out ALL the packaging. Leaving behind anything the enemy might find would give them knowledge of your operations. Clearly, whoever ate these MREs were military poseurs at best, litterers at worst.

I ventured on to inspect one of the illegal trails our park vandal has been littering with strange notes and whatnot, to see what I might find.

These appear to be Tibetan Prayer Flags.

I found several more of his Thank You notes.

Since they were still wet after Friday's/Saturday's rain, they were fragile so I gently stowed them and when I got home, I put them in the microwave to dry out.

They all begin with the same words; "Good morning universe..." then proceed to express thanks and love for a woman he hikes with, who is not his wife...

Reaching the walkbridge over I-691 I discovered some new graffiti on the bridge abutment.

I periodically would check this area because as you can see by the gray paint, I previously covered over other graffiti. I'll address this in the next week or two.

At the other end of the walkbridge I found and removed Cat's Patootie #52 Since November 2016.

This tree previously had a backwards swastika spray painted on it. At the time of discovery, all I had on me was a can of black spray paint. Today I had gray paint with me to somewhat improve the appearance. Once the gray dries it blends in better.

Ending this hike on a good note (at least for me; not for the person who lost it) I found a knit beanie. Just in time for the cooler weather, it was soaked from the recent rain. It's currently on a drying rack in my basement. I'll wash it, then off to Goodwill, where hopefully someone will give it a head to rest on.

I Could Not Believe What I Saw!

 

Visit #1626, Sunday 1 November 26, 7:10-9:05 a.m., 5.5 miles, 5.4 lbs. of litter.

Temps in the 30s, rising to near 60, sunny.

This post contains adult language. Parental discretion is advised.

As I was driving down East Main Street early this morning enroute to Hubbard Park, in the vicinity of city hall, I can usually see one of the illuminated klieg lights that have perturbed me as of late.

However on this particular early morning, before the rising sun could reach Castle Craig, I could NOT see the klieg light. Hmmm; I wonder if...

So as part of today's hike I stopped at Castle Craig and, at 8:05 a.m. the klieg lights were off, AND A NEW PHOTOCELL WAS INSTALLED!

Compare the old, cloudy one to the new one:

Regardless of this morning's switch to Daylight Standard Time, there is certainly a difference in the performance of the circuit. My hat's off to the Meriden Parks Department for addressing this issue! I may have to trip up to Castle Craig in the early morning to test its performance but I'm confident we're cooking with gas now.

I started my hike up the road around Merimere Reservoir and was surprised to find the signage announcing the road was closed for the season beginning November first, to be already up. Talk about being on time! I was impressed. Bonus; hikers and walkers get to enjoy the road unencumbered by cars.

So, as I was walking on the road I was slowly catching up to a man. He was holding a coffee cup in a manner which told me he was done drinking from it, and his body language as well as his walking style alerted my Spidey senses (Both Peter Parker aka Spiderman, and I share the same first name which could be more than coincidental). I suspected he was looking for a place to turn that cup into litter.

I followed him for a few hundred yards while carrying the bag of litter I had collected so far.

Sure enough, as he reached the metal guardrail near the north end of the reservoir, he began to place the cup on the ground, discretely hidden. 

At that point I opened my mouth.

I hollered,"NO! NO! DON'T EVEN THINK OF IT!"

So what does this character do - he sees my trash bag and hands the cup to me as if I'm his personal garbage man, to which I replied, "YOU CARRIED IT IN; YOU CARRY IT OUT. DON'T PULL THAT SHIT!"

He never said a word to me; he just wore a Harpo Marx grin on his face as if he didn't understand me.

He walked on carrying the cup but I didn't follow him up the road so I'll never know if he ditched it elsewhere.

I followed the Blue Trail up along the western edge of the reservoir, which was a good choice of route today as I found a fallen tree that I was able to remove with the tools on hand.

At Castle Craig, a birch tree I'd previously attended to, has lost another trunk.

I may have to give this the attention I gave the last piece.

Heading back toward the park I chose to check on an illegal trail where our park's persistent vandal likes to post things on trees. I wasn't disappointed.

If I recall, the REAL Spiderman was never called an asshole by the Green Goblin, Sandman, or any other villian. So why me?!😉

No matter; it is a good time to introduce you to a new addition to my trail toolkit, and introduce it to Hubbard Park.

Called a "cats paw" it is the perfect tool for this kind of work. Works like a champ.

Elsewhere on this particular trail, I found this note tucked in to a tree.

It was not worth salvaging but I was able to read it.

What is says is, "Who ever is hunting here I'm going to catch you on my camera."

Another note I found, left by the same person, was this:

I have found many of these before. They give thanks for this and that, and pray for other things.

This one starts out, as most do, with " Good morning universe. Thank you for another great week this year..." See if you can decipher the rest.

Be careful hiking; the leaves are slippery and I took a tumble as well as a couple stumbles today.